Tractor saw



Nov. 17, 1931. wlLHELM ET AL 1,832,599

TRACTOR SAW Filed July 5, 1929 .2 Sheets-Sheet l Elmer Mike/m Geo. P. Lucas. Jr.

NOV. 17, 1931. wlLHELM ET AL 1,832,599

TRACTOR SAW Filed July 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 gwuzntoi Elmer W'ilbelm Geo. P. Lucas Jr.

"Pumas Nov. 17, 1931". 1 33 599 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ma wnfinmr m enonen r. Lucas, .13... OZI' IAIiIYBA, mmsn 'rnac'ron. saw

Application filed July 5, 1929. Serial llo. 375,979.

Our invention relates to tractor saws and Figures 70 and 7D are illustrations of the its primaryobject is the provision of a saw lever extensions. 4 attachment adapted to be driven by power Figlures 7E and 7F are illustrations showfrom the tractor to fell trees and to saw the ing t e two braces used in the lever asseml wood u into pieces of any desired length. bly. 55

- Anot er of our objects is the provision of Figure 8 is a perspective view of the latch a saw attachment which is especially useful used when the attachment is in the Figure 2 on farms having wood lots. position during trans ortation.

Another of our objectsis the provisionof The tractor to whic our attachment is to 10 a convertible saw attachment whereby the be applied is a tractor of the track laying or no attachment may be readily placed in posicaterpillar type. This tractor is provided tion for felling trees and as easily placed in with aplurality of ribs 10 at its rear extremity the position required for sawing logs. and with a pulley wheel 11 to provide power.

Another object which we have 1n View is The attachment consists of two parts, one

the provision of a lever control which is readof which is to be secured rigidl to the trac- 65 ily accessible from the seat on the tractor tor. This is the supporting rame of the when the saw is to be used in felling trees, saw attachment and to this is pivotally sethe lever being so formed and connected that cured the saw frame. The supporting frame it gives ample control over thesaw and yet includes two angle iron beams 12 and 13.

remains 'always accessible to the operator. The beams 12 and 13 are parallel in their rear 70 e have in view also the provision of a portions but the beam 12 is inclined toward saw attachment which is exceedingly simple. the beam 13 to which its end portion is rigin operation and which can be manufactured idly secured at a point slightly in the rear of and sold at a relatively low cost. the extremity of the beam 13. The'support- Having in view these objects and others ing frame is braced b .means of a brace 14 75 which will be pointed out in the following connecting the p-aralle ortions of the'beams description, we will now refer to the draw- 12 and 13. The two sha s 15 and 16 also conings, in which nect the lparallel portions of the beams 12 Figure 1 is a View in perspective of the saw and 13, t e shaft 15 being the pulley shaft so attachment and a portion of the tractor, the while the shaft 16 is the idler shaft. The 80 attachment being in position for felling trees. pulley l7 is secured to the shaft 15 and is Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the driven from'the pulley 11 through the belt same attachment in position for sawing logs. 18. The shaft 16 carries an idler pulley 19 Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the for properly tensioning and guiding the belt connecting members in the Figure 2 posi- 1 8 Other belt tighteners, however, are em- 85 tion. ployed and these will be subsequently de- Figure 4 is a perspective view of the'memscribed. These other belt ti hteners areasbers for connecting the saw attachment to sociated with the bearings of the shaft 15. I

the tractor when the attachment is in the The saw frame includes two channel iron Fi ure 1 position. beams 20 and 21 each having plate extensions 9 Figure 5 is a view in perspective of the with apertures for receiving the shaft 15. bumper shown in Figure The saw frame is therefore pivotally mount- Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the ed to swing on the supporting frame about various members of the belt tighteners. the shaft 15 as a pivot. The saw frame has Flgure 7 is a perspective View of the lever two transverse braces 22 and 23 connecting 9 assembly. the beams 20 and 21 and it also has two diag- Figure 7A is an illustration of the lever onal braces 24 and 25 for giving rigidity to alone. p the saw frame. The shaft 15 carries a pulley Figure-7B is an illustration of the arcuate 26 which is connected by means of a belt 27 rack for latching the lever. with a pulley 28 on the saw shaft 29. The

saw shaft 29 has bearings at the rear extremities of the beams 20 and 21 and these bearin are similar to the bearings of the shaft 15 and they are also provi ed with belt ti hteners.

n the use of the saw for felling trees the frame is attached in the manner indicated in Figure 1, the manner of attaching being best shown in Fi re 4. The plate 30 is secured to the under sid: of the tractor and the forward end of the beam is secured to the'plate 30. An

additional brace 31 is provided which is secured to the beam 12 and which is provided with an aperture 310 in its forward end portions for receiving a stud bolt for secure attachment to the tractor near the pulley 11. When the parts are in this position, the driver manipulates the tractor into close roximity to the tree which is to be felled.

e can 0 Oose his position with reference to the tree and especially with reference to the direction in which the tree is to fall. He can regulate the height of the saw 34 by blockingi up the tractor at either the front or rear on s of the caterpillar track. By blocking up the front end the driver will be enabled to cut close to the ground and if he wishes to cut at a higher level he may block up the rear end of the tracks accordingly. When the saw 34 is in contact with the tree it is only necessary for the o erator to maintain a suflicient pressure of t e saw against the tree. For this purpose we have provided a lever which gives ample ran e of operations without becoming inaccessi le from the position of the driver of the tractor.

The lever 35 has its hand grip immediately in the rear of the seat of the tractor as is shown in Figure 1. The rear end of the lever 40 is secured to the forward end of the plate extension 41 of the beam and it is extended diagonally downward to connect with the beam 21 to provide an additional brace for the saw frame. The lever and its parts are best shown in Figure 7 and the figures immediately following. The lever 35 is pivotally connected to a second lever 36 the pivotal connection beinglmade through the apertures 37 and 38. T e lever 36 is rigidly secured at its forward extremity to an arcuate rack 39, rivet apertures 36a and 39a for the purpose bein provided in both the lever 36 and the rac 39. The diagonal brace 40 shown in Figure 7E connects the arcuate rack 39 to the lever 36 to make the connection more rigid. The lever extension 41 is secure- 1y connected with the lever 36 and it is provided with means for detachable connection with the beam 20. To provide additional rigidity the brace 42 shown in Figure 7F connects the lever 36 to the lever extension 41. The lever 35 is provided with a detent for engaging one of thelpleripheral notches in the arcuate rack 39. e purpose of this con- 66 struction will be apparent from an inspection of Figure 1. When the driver has shifted his K081131011 into close proximity with the tree,

e may find that the hand grip of the lever 35 is not in the most convenient position for maintaining a constant pressure of the saw against the tree. He may, however, shift the lever 35 with reference to the lever 36 and to latch the two levers in an desired angular relation b means of the etent 35a and the notches o the rack 39. If the tree is one of fairl lar e diameter a second or even third shifting o the lever 35 may be necessary since it is desirable at all times that the operator maintain a fairl uniform pressure of the saw in the tree wit iout leaving his position on the tractor.

When the attachment is to be used for cutting up lo s the attachment is positioned as shown in 1* igure 2. In this case the connections are made as shown in Figure 3. The beams 12 and 13 are turned over on the side and secured to the plate 30. The brace 31 is replaced by the brace 43 which extends from the beam 12 to the fastening device 44. The fastening device 44 comprises a bolt having two collars as shown, the bolt passing through an aperture in the brace 43. The lever 35 and its assembly as well as the shaft 16 with the idler pulley 19 are removed. The belt pulley 17 is attached at the outer extremity of the shaft 15 and in alignment with the pulley 11. The frame is further braced by means of the brace 31 extending from the curved portion of the beam 12 to the tractor at a po' t 31a in close proximity to the shaft of the pulley 11. The brace 44 has secured thereto a latch 45 which is adapted to engage in the aperture of the lug 46 as shown in Figures 2 and 8. The lug 46 is permanently secured to the plate extension 41. The counterbalancing spring 47 is secured at its rear end to the saw frame at the junction of the braces 24 and 25 and it is secured at its forward end to the tractor. The purpose of this counterbalancing spring of course is to prevent the rear end of the saw frame from falling below a predetermined level. The frame in this position is further provided with a bail handle 48 whereby the operator may conveniently depress the saw against the wood to be sawed. In transportin the implement it is desirable that the saw frame be folded over the supporting frame and this may readily be done by lifting up on the bail handle 48. The saw frame is provided with the resilient bumper 49 which is adapted to engage in the channel of the beam 14 to prevent excessive forward movement of the saw frame. The bumper 49 is sufiiciently heavy and it is resilient enough to cushion the saw frame on the supporting frame when traveling over rough roads.

The bearings at the ends of the shafts 15 and 29 are slidably adjustable so that the two belts may be tightened. The specific bearing and the means for adjusting thebearings is shown in Figure 6. The bearing member is seated against the outer side of the beam which may be one of the angle beams 12 or 13 or one of the channel iron beams 20 or 21. The beam is provided with an elongated slot 51. The bar 52 is seated within the beam directly opposite the bearing member 50. lhe bearing member is provided with a pair of apertures 53 in alignment with corresponding apertures 54: in the bar 52. The

bearing member and the bar may thus be secured together on opposite sides of the beam by means of bolts passing through the apertures 53 and 54:. The end 55 of the bar 52 is screw threaded for receiving a nut 56 with a washer 57, the washer 57 being seated against the end of the beam. It will be readily apparent that the turning of the nut 56 on the screw threaded portion 55 Will slide the bearing member 50 lengthwise of the beam and thus tighten or loosen the belt.

Having thus described our invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that its con struction and operation will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A tractor saw attachment including a pulley frame adapted to be turned through 90 and for attachment to a tractor to project rearwardly therefrom, comprising an angle iron for attachment to said tractor, a second angle iron parallel to said first angle iron and having an end portion inclined towards and secured to said first angle iron, detachable brace means adapted to be secured to the upper face of the second angle iron in each ofits positions and also secured to the tractor in each position of the pulley frame, whereby the pulley frame may be attached to the tractor in either of two positions 90 apart, a shaft on said pulley frame, said shaft being driven by the tractor motor, a saw frame pivotally connected to said pulley frame, a saw on said saw frame, and means connecting said shaft and said saw for operating said saw.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

ELMER WILHELM. GEORGE P. LUCAS, JR. 

